BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds possibly summed up the mood of most of the country when he told BBC Radio 5 live: "The Home Office wrote back to us and said 'we don't consider this of national importance'.

"They've really missed something here and they should reconsider."

Individual pubs can still apply for a licence.

Crime Prevention Minister Norman Baker, said: "It is our normal practice to only extend licensing hours under the Licensing Act 2003 in exceptional circumstances, usually for one-off events such as the Golden Jubilee rather than prolonged periods.

"Premises which wish to open longer during this time can do so by applying for a Temporary Event Notice extension.

"This gives local authorities and police an opportunity to feed into the decision making process, allowing them to allocate resources if necessary."